Should Internal Audit Report to the CFO? CFO.com
While having direct access to the CFO exposes the head auditor to a company's financial reporting process, it also can undermine that auditor's independence, according to recently released best practices

Corporate compliant rant and audit preparedness, TechRepublic
What do government mandated regulatory compliance laws mean to an IT pro?  It means that you should always be prepared to answer questions related to the design of your network and be able to retrieve requested data within a reasonable timeframe. 

Why Do Employees Lie, Cheat, and Steal on the Job? Fraud Auditing and Forensic Accounting 
Despite the threats of professional demise, civil litigation, and potential criminal charges, white-collar criminal activity is more brisk than ever. These 25 reasons for employee crimes are those most often advanced by authorities in the field.

The Top 15 Trends Shaping the Future of Finance, Treasury & Risk Management
This article identifies the ideas and trends that will play an important part in defining state-of-the-art finance in the future. Topping the list are the aging workforce and the need to promote health initiatives – two strategic risks that companies must increasingly grapple with.

Operational Risk - The Risk-Intelligent Company, RiskCenter
Growing integration of corporate governance, risk management, and compliance is turning the finance function's attention to the future. Finance departments are collaborating with other corporate functions to identify companywide risks and potential governance and compliance shortcomings and evaluating ways to address and manage them. Requires free subscription.

Secure The Data, Not Just The Underlying Infrastructure,  Forrester Trend Report
This article discusses the benefits of a data-centric security model, the shortfalls in existing security models it can resolve, and identifies who has solutions for implementing this model. Requires free subscription.

Technology Is Becoming Further Intertwined With Compliance Efforts, Bank Systems & Technology
Things are changing when it comes to compliance. Banks are realizing that the compliance burden is here to stay, and figuring ways to turn those billions of dollars in investments into increased value for the bank –gaining valuable customer, financial, and competitive insights.

Retention Management: The Holy Grail Of Records Management, Forrester Research
Enterprises need comprehensive data life-cycle management for all enterprise content from the moment it's first created. Extending records management policies and products to include retention management provides a better way to track, audit, and discover content — and significantly improves how enterprises enforce compliance and mitigate legal risk.

Tougher Oversight Prompts Turnover Among CFOs, Smart Pros
Since Sarbanes-Oxley doesn't apply to privately owned companies, public company CFOs who are overwhelmed by the new regulations find working for a private company an attractive alternative.

Audit trails: The secret sauce for SOX documentation, BNET
Under Sarbanes-Oxley, lines of business managers must put pen to paper and document what the business is actually doing, from a controls perspective, on a daily basis.

If SOX Were a Tree, WebCPA
Speaking to a crowd of CPAs, Public Company Accounting Oversight Board member Charles Niemeier describes the problems at the root of the accounting environment in making the case for the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

Oxley: Holes in SOX can be mended, InvestmentNews
Sen. Michael Oxley (Ohio-R), the co-author of the famed Sarbanes-Oxley act of 2002, said that he expects some changes in the enforcement of the law beginning next year.

True Lies: Data Quality and the Reality of Compliance Risk, IT Compliance Institute
What does the corporate data contain, what is it missing, and how is it lying? This white paper addresses these critical questions and explores data quality's central role in compliance. Registration required.

Phishing Special Report: What We Can Expect for 2007, BankInfoSecurity
This white paper explores the facts and trends of recent phishing activity and offers some insight to the direction phishing attacks are headed in 2007.

The Paperless Trail: Track Usage Back with Database Auditing, IT Compliance Institute
Failure to audit corporate database activity dramatically increases the risk of fraud, failed audits, lost customers, and a damaged reputation. A new set of data-specific measures are emerging to help ensure the integrity of information.

Strategies for preventing internal security breaches in a growing business, TechRepublic
 Methods for preventing internal security breaches that work in a small company environment generally don't scale well as the organization gets larger.  Here's how you develop a scalable strategy for preventing breaches as your company grows. F ree subscription required.

The value of IT leaders, McKinsey Quarterly
Companies need a single credible IT leader who can strike the right balance between using governance systems and working directly with colleagues to forge a common vision . Finding an IT leader who can build trust with both business executives and the IT staff, often means appointing non-stereotypical CIOs.

10 dumb things IT pros do that can mess up their networks, TechRepublic
End users aren't the only ones whose misguided actions can bring the network to a screeching halt. This article identifies the most common oversights, sub-par practices, and bad habits that can land techs in trouble -- from sliding on DR planning to stalling on repairs or ignoring the need for logs and documentation.

Sustainable IT Compliance, IT Observer
IT compliance has emerged as an ongoing, critical business function that has a profound effect on growth and success. This article looks at some of the principal challenges to sustained IT compliance, and how an automated solution can help enterprises effectively govern their compliance efforts while reducing cost and inefficiencies.

The 10 most important things to teach your users, TechRepublic
Your organization may not provide new users with any substantial training or to help them understand IT policies and best computing practices, which often translates into problems for support techs. One way to head off some problems is to educate your users about certain computing basics. Free registration required.

Tech Innovation Is the Key to Growth, Bank Systems & Technology
Financial services providers and banks spend an average of 41% of their IT budget on new projects, about double what most other businesses spend.

10 security problems unique to IT, Tech Republic
Organizations face a host of security concerns driven by the power of technology and the vulnerabilities inherent in its use. IT pros have to be vigilant and strike a balance between limiting danger versus affecting productivity.   Free registration required.